The turn-signal thread reminded me of something I've been meaning to ask the national audience here on the Forum.
Where I now live in the Fayetteville, North Carolina area, I have observed a phenomenon I don't ever remember seeing anywhere else I have lived. I can't figure it out, and I wonder if anyone else sees it and whether it's some kind of new trend.
When coming to a stop for a stoplight, my habit has always been to leave perhaps 3 to 5 feet or so between me and the car ahead. This is what feels like a comfortable space, plus I do it in consideration of people behind me so when the light changes, most or all of us can get through the light before it turns red again. Simple, right?
Well, it's amazing to me that so many drivers here will stop a full car length, or even more, behind the one in front of them. Some even stop that far behind the stop line if they're first in line. In a long line of stopped traffic, this means that the folks near the end of the line are gonna have to wait through another light cycle to move through.
Not to mention the fact that when someone "stops short" ahead of me as I'm decelerating, I have less room to stop and sometimes have to brake hard, even if I had not been following too closely. We have a ton of rear-end collisions in our area, and I wonder if this is partly why.
This behavior puzzles, and frankly, gripes me. It's another grrrrrrrrrrrr moment among the many others I have when driving these days.
Do people do this where you live? Is there a reasonable explanation?[/QUOTE}
After being rear ended more than twice, I am very content if they manage to not hit me.
